January 2016
22
www.sportseventsmagazine.com
Congratulations!
2016 Readers' Choice
Award Winners
R E C O G N I T I O N I S S U E
t
TENNESSEE
Greene County Partnership Tourism
www.visitgreenevilletn.com
Sevierville CVB
www.visitsevierville.com
Visit Knoxville-Knoxville CVB
www.visitknoxville.com
TEXAS
Round Rock CVB
www.sportscapitaloftexas.com
Plano CVB
www.visitplano.com
Beaumont CVB
www.beaumontcvb.com
City of College Station: Parks & Recreation
www.cstx.gov
City of Brenham
www.cityofbrenham.org
SPORTyler
www.visittyler.com/sports
VIRGINIA
Hampton CVB
www.visithampton.com
Virginia Beach CVB
www.visitvirginiabeach.com
Chesapeake CVB
www.visitchesapeake.com
WASHINGTON
Snohomish County Sports Commission
www.snohomish.org
See Ad On Page 24
Visit TRI-CITIES
www.visittri-cities.com
Vancouver USA Regional Tourism Ofce
www.visitvancouverusa.com
WEST VIRGINIA
Greater Morgantown CVB
www.tourmorgantown.com
Cabell Huntington CVB
www.wvvisit.org
WISCONSIN
Greater Green Bay CVB
www.greenbay.com
Wisconsin Dells Visitor & Convention Bureau
www.playinthedells.com
VISIT Milwaukee
www.visitmilwaukee.org
See Ad On Page 19
WYOMING
Casper Area CVB
www.visitcasper.com
Gillette-Campbell County CVB
www.visitgillettewright.com
• Continued professionalism
• Continued communication
• Continued adaptability
• More knowledge of bass tournament's
economic impact
• Less of a stigma among corporations to
partner with religious organizations
• Build and strengthen relationships in
sports tourism industry
• Find talent more easily
• Use of personal jet to cut travel time
• Work with CVBs and SCs to speed up
event planning
• More understanding of logistics
behind marketing
• Better facilities
• Better services by facility staf
• More community involvement
• For parents to understand a child learns
more than just competing
• For providers to understand there are
limits to resources parents can provide
• Remember: Play hard and have fun!
• Others would join the organization
• Build a scholarship endowment
• Find sponsors willing to trade services
or products
• More programs to host tournaments
• More national sponsor partners
• More focus on community softball
programs
• See families support host hotels
• See travel costs drop to make it easier
for families to aford
• See more cities build 3-rink
facilities n
2016
Wish
List
Planners
SportsEvents Magazine's Sports Planners
were asked to name three wishes that
would enhance the work they do. Here
are some of their responses:
their home state or province, so coaches
can't recruit kids from all over the U.S.
to create some superpower," he says.
"Not only does this level the playing
feld it also adds an element of state and
provincial pride for everyone involved."
TINA HAWKINS
2nd Vice President, Publicity/
Promotions Director
National Horseshoe Pitchers Assoc.
NHPA's World Horseshoe Pitching
Championships
Marlow, OK
7 Years Planning Events
If you're like many people, you've
probably played horseshoes, but did
you know you could win a world title
in it? That's just one of the challenges
Tina Hawkins faces as the Publicity/
Promotions Director for the National
Horseshoe Pitchers Association.
"The biggest challenge in my role
is the attempt to fnd sponsorship on
a national scope," she says. "We are
somewhat of an obscure sport (even
though most people in the country have
probably played horseshoes at one time
or another!)"
Once a year, nearly 1,500 or more
horseshoe enthusiasts of all ages
come together for two weeks during
the NHPA World Horseshoe Pitching
Championships to crown a world cham-
pion in each of eight divisions.
"What makes the event unique is the
fact that any active NHPA member can
participate at a level of competition
that matches his/her skill level; and that
every one of those competitors enter the
tournament with the possibility of taking
home a world title!"
Hawkins doesn't earn a salary in her
position, so her commitment is purely
for the love of the game and the asso-
ciation. "What I love most about my
work is the interaction with the members
and feeling like my efforts have made a
difference for the membership and the
association as a whole," she says. n